A Lonely Place

Perk up. How does that work. How do you get out of your lonely place? PErk up doesn’t work because you loneliness is not the need for something from with yourself. It’s something that you have been disconnected from. It is relational. It’s not a better relationship with yourself that will fix it. We need other people. We are relational people. We need connection.

White noise. Noise pollution

Shows up in that we can’t put down our phones. We can’t turn off our devices or our brains

Hoh rain forest washington state. One square inch of silence.

We have never been more connected yet we are becoming increasingly disconnected.

People are starting to see our connectedness is really just a distraction from our loneliness.

We don’t spend any time alone. It’s almost impossible.

Mark 1:35 (CSB)

35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he got up, went out, and made his way to a deserted place; and there he was praying.

Sound familiar? I wonder if Mark uses foreshadowing to make a big impact.

Solitary, desolate, deserted, wilderness, lonely place. Eremos. Wilderness.

Jesus just got done healing Peter’s mother in law after leaving the synagogue at Capernaum after healing a man with an unclean spirit. Capernaum is a small town of probably about 1500 people on the northwestern corner of the sea of Galilee. In hebrew, it means town of Nahum or pleasant town. It was a trading post and fishing village. He is staying with Peter and Andrew and he heals the mother in law who has a fever. Guess what. Word spreads through town.

I’m from a small town. gossip and rumors travel quick. This is lightning fast. Jimmy john’s fast. They leave the synagogue and he has healed two people of infirmities. So they start bringing everyone who is sick and demon possessed. By evening, THE WHOLE TOWN is outside the door. And he heals them.

Jesus had busy night. He has healed an incredible number of people. He has helped a whole town. He is a small town superstar. Everyone knows a small town superstar right? They make it big and everyone expects them to go on and do great things?

Do you know what a Q score is? Jesus Q score is starting to rise rapidly.

What do most people do when they start becoming known? They self promote, they sell themselves, they go on tour to all the big cities and all the big venues. Where does Jesus go.

You know you are staying at a house full of people. Peter seems to be characterized as a little intense. You know Jesus probably knew he’d wake up the next morning not just the town but maybe the whole region. And instead of holding court, very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he got up, went out and made his way to a deserted place. And what does he do there? Watch some netflix? Check facebook? Reply to some emails? Get a quick workout in? Do a little gardening? Play a little golf? He prays.

Last week we talked about what you fill your loneliness and alone time with is what will either further disconnect or reconnect you.

Jesus uses his time to pray.

What is prayer? Jesus uses it as a time toReconnect with the father, and where you align yourself with His purpose.

Mark 1:36–37 (CSB)

36 Simon and his companions searched for him, 37 and when they found him they said, “Everyone is looking for you.”

Peter has to be feeling pretty lucky. He was befriended by the next big thing. Peter tells him “everyone is looking for you.” Look man, what you can do is incredible. I need to be your promoter! Let’s go show them what you can do. I mean with this kind of power we can rule the world. I know I can’t do this stuff but man I can make sure everyone knows who you are. I’ll be your manager. I’ll be your agent. I’ll be your campaign manager. Let’s do this. Jesus let’s maximize your popularity. You are rising in the polls. Let’s cash in. Your twitter handle is exploding. We can take over. We can be in power.

Jesus says:

Mark 1:38 (CSB)

38 And he said to them, “Let’s go on to the neighboring villages so that I may preach there too. This is why I have come.”

Jesus doesn’t confuse popularity or power with purpose

What do you think he was doing while he was praying? He got away from everyone in order to reconnect with his father and he comes out aligned with his purpose. This is why I have come. Not to heal every single malady effecting this village. But to go to all the villages and preach good news. Good news of what? Well let’s see. Jesus comes out of his lonely place aligned with the creators purpose.

Mark 1:39 (CSB)

39 He went into all of Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.

Jesus’ purpose was preaching

What was jesus preaching in the synagogues?

Luke 4:16–19 (CSB)

16 He came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. As usual, he entered the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read. 17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him, and unrolling the scroll, he found the place where it was written:

18 The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

Jesus’ purpose was people

poor

captives

sick

oppressed

the year of the Lord

Well a man with a sickness, who was captive and oppressed and poor comes to him in the synagogue, yearning to be reconnected.

Mark 1:40 (CSB)

40 Then a man with leprosy came to him and, on his knees, begged him, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”

In Leviticus 13 we have an entire chapter on pimples and boils. It’s Dr. Pimple popper for the ancient Jew. Why is an entire chapter of the bible devoted to this? One, God was trying to protect his people from spreading disease. Second, don’t you think he wanted us to know what this guy Jesus is meeting went through?

It’s really not that much better than what dermatologists do today. The joke is if it’s dry skin make it wet with cream, if its wet, make it dry. If it looks funny, cut it off and see what it is.

These instructions are pretty complex. If you noticed something on your skin, you had to go to the priest and they had to use the manual to determine the prognosis and treatment.

And it’s not that different from today. You get a little skin blemish, what do you do? you cover it up. Until it gets so bad that you can’t just cover it up. If the spot looked concerning,, if the test was positive, they would quarantine you for a week. Then you would have to come back. Depending on how the spot evolved, you might be deemed unclean.

It’s kind of funny to me. They even talk about baldness. Baldness is all good. But a red, scaling scalp. Unclean.

Leviticus 13:45–46 CSB

45 “The person who has a case of serious skin disease is to have his clothes torn and his hair hanging loose, and he must cover his mouth and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean!’ 46 He will remain unclean as long as he has the disease; he is unclean. He must live alone in a place outside the camp.

You would be socially, physically, psychologically, spiritually, economically isolated

You become an outcast. You have no protection outside the city. You are going to be grouped with people based on your condition.

What if you were taken away from everyone you know and love because of your condition.

Jesus would have had the legal right to stone the man to keep

Before people knew your name, they’d know your problem.

How do you want to be known?

By your name or by your problem

Your medical condition? Your insecurities? Your addictions? Your idols? Your sins? Your worst thoughts?

What if before you walked into a room, every thought and opinion were put on a screen for everyone to read? What if before you came to worship today, instead of announcements, we put up on this screen the horrible things you thought about someone this week? Would you have any friends

Do you want your first impression to be your character or your condition?

Don’t you think this would be a lonely place if all anyone could see about us is the thing that we are most ashamed of?

By the wonders of modern medicine, leprosy is now a treatable condition. But in Jesus time, it was a life sentence of pain, loneliness and misery. And this man heard there was a cure. And he was willing to risk anything to have it.

The leper could hide the skin disease for a while. But eventually it breaks out. We get really good at covering up our spots because they aren’t popping out of our skin.

They are in our hearts and minds. We can make people think our reputation is fine. But our character is who we actually are when no one is looking.

In biblical times it was so severe as to be a threat to society. Obviously through the centuries immunities have developed and micro-organisms have changed and so the disease as we know it today has a...it may be a little bit different and have a little different impact. But in ancient times even God said to Israel in Deuteronomy 5:2, "If you find anybody with leprosy, put him out of the camp." And David, you know, when he wanted to curse the house of evil Joab, he said the worst thing you could possibly say in 2 Samuel 3:29, David said concerning the house of Joab: "May it never be without a leper." It would be like saying to somebody today, "May your children have AIDS." That was really some kind of curse. Being a leper was the worst imaginable condition, horribly disfiguring, horribly ugly, pockets worn into your face and your head, clawed limbs worn away, open sores, religiously isolated, socially isolated, economically isolated, no family, no job, no friends, no worship, no hope. Pretty good illustration of sin, isn't it?

Josephus says that lepers were to be treated as dead men. And the rabbis said that next to touching a dead body, getting near a leper was the rankest form of defilement. In Palestine in Jesus' time lepers were barred from the city of Jerusalem and any other walled city. And if a leper ever came into a synagogue, in a town or a village, he had to go to a small isolated room called a makitza. He couldn't come near other people. The rabbis said they could come no closer than six feet upwind and 150 feet downwind. 50 paces. One rabbi said he wouldn't even eat an egg after he took the shell off of it if it was bought on a street where a leper had passed by, fearful of its contagion. Another rabbi wrote that he would throw stones at lepers to keep them away.

This man isn’t afraid to show his spots

How many of us would have the courage, bravery to show the thing that is isolating us? Destroying us and our relationships? How many of us would get down on our knees to show everyone else the thing we don’t want anyone to see or touch.

How does Jesus react?

Mark 1:41–42 (CSB)

41 Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched him. “I am willing,” he told him. “Be made clean.” 42 Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.

What does Jesus do? The other gospel accounts tell us jesus is surrounded by people. 20 seconds of insane bravery and courage.

Bacteria destroys the nerves. Fingers fall off with simple tasks. Burned hands from reaching into a fire for a potato.

The leper couldn’t feel and hadn’t been touched in years

Dr. Paul Brand helped our understanding of this. Eats the nerves first.

Jesus felt for the man who couldn’t feel.

Jesus touched the untouchable

In the history of the world, uncleanness makes the clean unclean. For the first time in the world, cleanness makes unclean clean.

The leper is a superspreader

Jesus is a supercurer

The clean makes the unclean clean

When you get out in the yard does your cleanness rub off on the uncleanness of the garden? Clara rolled down Ariens hill yesterday. Did her cleanness rub off on the hill or the uncleanness onto her and her clothes?

What about COVID or any other disease?

Mark 1:43–45 (CSB)

43 Then he sternly warned him and sent him away at once, 44 telling him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go and show yourself to the priest, and offer what Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” 45 Yet he went out and began to proclaim it widely and to spread the news,

When Jesus brings him out of the storm, like noah, he praises him. He has to become fruitful and multiply. Isn’t what everyone should do after an encounter with Jesus?

but what is the result? Jesus knew this was going to happen.

Mark 1:45 (CSB)

with the result that Jesus could no longer enter a town openly. But he was out in deserted places, and they came to him from everywhere.

Why did Jesus tell him not to say anything? Don’t you think Jesus knew he would go and tell everyone? I do. He knew people would want their spots taken away. But he knew his purpose wasn’t just to heal all the physical maladies of a small group of people in northern Israel. He knew his purpose was to take away the sin spots of the whole world. And that’s what he knew his life was supposed to be about. To proclaim good news of a coming revolution to the world.

So jesus could have just not healed this man. But you know what? He healed him anyway. He touched him anyway. He cleaned the unclean anyway. He knew what it would cost him and he did it anyway!

He did it anyway!

See how Mark is using the literary technique of foreshadowing here. The beauty of this passage is the substitution or transposition. In verse 39, the leper is in a lonely place. But after his encounter with Jesus, Jesus is forced into a lonely place, an isolated place, a deserted place.

What is mark foreshadowing?

Mark 14:32–42 (CSB)

32 Then they came to a place named Gethsemane, and he told his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 He took Peter, James, and John with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 34 He said to them, “I am deeply grieved to the point of death. Remain here and stay awake.”

35 He went a little farther, fell to the ground, and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. 36 And he said, “Abba, Father! All things are possible for you. Take this cup away from me. Nevertheless, not what I will, but what you will.” 37 Then he came and found them sleeping. He said to Peter, “Simon, are you sleeping? Couldn’t you stay awake one hour? 38 Stay awake and pray so that you won’t enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

39 Once again he went away and prayed, saying the same thing. 40 And again he came and found them sleeping, because they could not keep their eyes open. They did not know what to say to him. 41 Then he came a third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The time has come. See, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42 Get up; let’s go. See, my betrayer is near.”

You remember us saying you can be alone but not lonely and lonely but not alone. Jesus in the garden was lonely but not alone

Surrounded by his best friends he was all alone. People came everywhere to hear him. And yet in his moment of deepest need, he is weeping and praying there alone.

Mark 1:45 (CSB)

45 ...Jesus could no longer enter a town openly. But he was out in deserted places, and they came to him from everywhere.

Jesus had his people there and instead of comforting, they fall asleep. Jesus went out to deserted places, to lonely places.

Jesus lived a lonely life, went to a lonely garden, said a lonely prayer, was betrayed by a lonely friend, withstood a lonely trial, took a lonely beating, carried a lonely cross down a lonely street to a lonely hill and hung on a lonely cross, only to wake up early on Sunday morning, get up and went out of a lonely tomb. And he did all that, so that in him alone, we never have to be lonely.

Jesus took our lonely place

Noah was God’s plan to hit reset on the sin problem

Jesus was God’s plan to hit renew on the sin problem

1 Peter 3:18–20 (CSB)

18 For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, 19 in which he also went and made proclamation to the spirits in prison 20 who in the past were disobedient, when God patiently waited in the days of Noah while the ark was being prepared. In it a few—that is, eight people—were saved through water.

The righteous for the unrighteous

The clean for the unclean

Genesis 9:15 (CSB)

15 I will remember my covenant between me and you and all the living creatures: water will never again become a flood to destroy every creature.

Through Noah, God promised to never again destroy the world with water

Through Christ, God promised to save the world with water

1 Peter 3:21 (CSB)

21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you (not as the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a good conscience toward God) through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,